Monitoring system, game machine and device management system

ABSTRACT

A board box  80  includes an upper lid portion  80   a  made of transparent resin, and a lower lid portion  80   c  made of transparent resin. A main control board  41  for performing main control to a pachinko game machine  1  is provided on the lower lid portion  80   c.  A thin and rectangular IC tag  86  is provided at the backside of the upper lid portion  80   a.  A coil-shaped antenna  68  for making RF transmission and reception with the IC tag  86  is provided at the lower right end portion of the main control board  41.  The distance between the antenna  68  and the IC tag  86  is set to about 3 mm in the state that the upper lid portion  80   a  and the lower lid portion  80   c  are assembled. A R/W unit always polls the IC tag  86  via the antenna  68.  If the upper lid portion  80   a  is opened and the distance between the antenna  68  and the IC tag  86  exceeds about 5 mm, the communication becomes unavailable and a fact that the upper lid portion  80   a  has been opened is immediately detected.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a monitoring system for monitoring astate of a device, for example, of a game machine such as a pachinkogame machine, a game machine, and a device management system.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, among game machines, pachinko game machines areendlessly subjected to deceit actions in which prize balls are unfairlyobtained, and various prevention measures have been taken. Particularly,the control board housing box for housing the control board is providedwith various arrangements for preventing unauthorized modifications to acontrol board which controls the game machine, for example, forpreventing replacement to an unauthorized ROM. For example, the controlboard housing box is provided with a seal. In a pachinko game machinedescribed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-216324, thecontrol board hosing box is hard to open because it is provided with aseal screw which rotates only to a tightening direction along which thecontrol board housing box is closed in order to make the main controlboard untouchable. In a pachinko game machine described in JapaneseLaid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-34365, opening and closing operationsto the housing box are detected using a movable contact point, and thedetection signal from the movable contact point is stored and isannunciated by a light emitting diode. In a game device described inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-288218, an IC tag isattached onto the surface of the control board housing box. In responseto a request for transmission from an ID read unit, the IC tag isallowed to transmit identification information stored therein to the IDread unit. It is determined by confirming the identification informationwhether or not the control board housing box, involving the controlboard, has been entirely replaced unfairly.

However, in the arrangement using the seal, if the control board housingbox is opened and a ROM is replaced with an unauthorized one, and then asophisticated imitation seal is attached, it is hard to determinewhether or not the control board housing box has been opened and thenclosed. In the arrangement using a seal screw, there are some caseswhere the seal screw is forcibly turned to its opening direction bymeans of a special tool to open the control board housing box and a ROMis replaced with an unauthorized one. Further, in the arrangement inwhich the opening and closing operations to the control board housingbox are detected using the movable contact point, since the controlboard housing box is usually made of a transparent resin, the presenceof the movable contact point for use in detecting the opening andclosing operations to the housing box can be visually seen. Therefore,there are some cases where a piano wire or the like is inserted throughthe clearance of the board housing box so as to prevent the movablecontact point from moving. In this case, there arises a problem that theopening and closing operations to the control board housing box cannotbe detected. Further, these above-described prior arts have a problemthat whether or not the control board housing box has been opened andclosed can be determined only when the control box is visually checked.In many cases, deceit actions are made at night and it is cumbersome toinspect and check each of several hundreds of game machines in anamusement center every morning. In the arrangement in which theunauthorized replacement of the control board housing box is monitoredby identifying the IC tag, since the ID read unit is placed outside ofthe control board housing box, it is possible to open the control boardhosing box without changing the relative position between the IC tag andthe ID read unit so as to replace the ROM on the housed control boardwith an unauthorized one. Eventually, this arrangement is not sufficientto detect deceit actions at an early stage.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above-describedproblems, and an objective thereof is to provide a monitoring system, agame machine, and a device management system for monitoring the statesof the device such as opening and closing operations to the controlboard housing box in real time.

A monitoring system of a first invention of the present applicationcomprises an IC tag, and an IC tag monitoring device that makescommunication with the IC tag, wherein said IC tag stores identificationdata that is used for distinguishing the IC tag from other IC tags, andsaid IC tag monitoring device includes a transmission circuit thattransmits a calling wave for calling said IC tag, a reception circuitthat receives a reflected wave returned from said IC tag, an antennathat is connected to said transmission circuit and said receptioncircuit, and determination means for determining that an abnormality hasoccurred if said reception circuit does not receive the reflected wavewithin a specified period of time since said transmission circuittransmits the calling wave and the communication becomes unavailable, orif said identification data contained in said reflected wave differsfrom registered data that is registered beforehand.

In thus-structured monitoring system, a transmission circuit which isprovided to the IC tag monitoring device transmits a calling wave to theIC tag containing an IC chip via the antenna, so as to call the IC tag.Then, the IC tag returns a reflected wave containing identification datasuch as an ID code which the IC tag stores. The reception circuit whichis provided to the IC tag monitoring device receives the reflected wavevia the antenna. Then, the determination means determines that anabnormality has occurred if the reception circuit does not receive thereflected wave within a specified period of time since the transmissioncircuit transmits the calling wave and the communication becomesunavailable, or if the identification data contained in the reflectedwave differs from registered data that is registered beforehand.

The IC tag is also referred to as a radio frequency-identification(RFID). The IC chip contained in the IC tag is the same type as of anon-contact type IC card, and provides communication in non-contactcommunication. In addition to the ID code specific to the IC tag, an IDof the provided device (manufacturer's ID), a management code of anamusement center (hall ID), and the like can be additionally stored inthe memory area within the IC chip as identification data. These IDs arerespectively structured by unique information (i.e. information that canbe uniquely identified) of about 64 bits. When these IDs are formed intodouble or triple structure, it becomes very difficult to copy andunfairly utilize these IDs. Since the reflected wave which istransmitted in response to the calling wave contains such identificationdata, its modification or so-called “disguise” is difficult as comparedwith light, electricity, and the like. Therefore, if the IC tag isnormally located at a position where a communication from the antenna isavailable, and then, for example, the member to which the IC tag isfixedly attached is moved out of the communication available range, thereflected wave cannot be received and communication becomes unavailable.When the member returns to the position with in the communicationavailable range from the communication unavailable state again, thereception of the reflected wave is enabled again. With this arrangement,changes in the device that the member has been opened, moved, and thelike can be detected without relying on visual observation. If thecommunication unavailability and the return of communication are storedand are left in the history, it is possible to distinguish a normalstate from an abnormal state, and the monitoring can be madeeffectively.

Further, the monitoring system of the present invention may bestructured in such a manner that the reception circuit cannot receivesaid reflected wave if a distance between the IC tag and said antennachanges to a value exceeding a specified threshold value. Inthus-structured monitoring system, if the IC tag is apart from theantenna beyond a specified distance, the reception circuit cannotreceive the reflected wave and the communication becomes unavailable.Therefore, if the IC tag is provided to a member which is opened andclosed, and then if the member is opened and the IC tag is apart fromthe antenna beyond a specified distance, the communication becomesunavailable. Therefore, the fact that the member has been opened can bedetected.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, the IC tagmonitoring device may include storage means for storing a result ofdetermination made by said determination means, or for storingmonitoring history data containing at least one of the time ofdisappearance that is the point of time at which the communicationavailable state in which said reception circuit can receive saidreflected wave has changed into the communication unavailable state inwhich said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave, or thetime of recovery that is the point of time at which the communicationunavailable state has changed into said communication available state,and the time of ID abnormality that is the point of time at whichidentification data different from the registered data that has beenregistered beforehand has received.

In thus-structured monitoring system, the storage means stores theresult of determination or the monitoring history data. The monitoringhistory data contains either one of the time at which the receptioncircuit has run into a state that it cannot receive the reflected wave(time of disappearance), the time at which the reception circuit hasrecovered into a state that it can receive the reflected wave again(time of recovery), and the time at which identification data differentfrom the registered data which is registered beforehand has beenreceived due to an unauthorized replacement of the IC tag and the like(time of ID abnormality). Therefore, the monitoring history of the ICtag can be referred later. In addition, since the accurate time at whicha deceit action has made can be known, if a surveillance camera isprovided to an amusement center and the like which includes a deviceprovided with the monitoring system, a person who has made the deceitaction can be specified by checking the images left in the surveillancecamera.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, the storagemeans may not store said determination result and said monitoringhistory data when the result of the determination made by saiddetermination means is normal continuously from the previous time, andwhen the result of the determination made by said determination means isabnormal continuously from the previous time.

In thus-structured monitoring system, the determination result and themonitoring history data are not stored when the result of thedetermination made by said determination means is normal or abnormalcontinuously from the previous time. Therefore, if there is no change inthe state, the result of determination and monitoring history data arenot stored regardless whether or not the state is normal or abnormal,but are stored only when there is a change in the state. With thisarrangement, the storage capacity can be saved.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, thetransmission circuit may transmit the calling wave to said IC tag, andtransmit the calling wave to said IC tag again immediately after saiddetermination means has made determination and said storage means hasmade storage.

In thus-structured monitoring system, a calling wave is transmitted tothe IC tag. If no reflected wave is received after waiting for aspecified period of time, it is determined that the communicationbecomes unavailable and an abnormality has occurred, and the result ofdetermination and the monitoring history data are stored if necessary.Immediately after that, a calling wave is transmitted to the IC tagagain. If the reflected wave is received, it is checked whether or notthe identification data contained in the reflected wave is true. If nottrue, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred. Then, theresult of determination and the monitoring history data are stored ifnecessary as is the case where the communication is unavailable.Immediately after that, a calling wave is transmitted to the IC tagagain. If the identification data contained in the reflected wave istrue, it is determined the state is normal. Then, the result ofdetermination and the monitoring history data are stored if necessary.Immediately after that, the IC tag is called again. By use of thismethod, the IC tag is always called to monitor the state of the device.In this way, an abnormality can be found in real time and can beoutputted to the outside, or its history can be left.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, the IC tagmonitoring device may further comprise output means for outputtingstored details that said storage means has stored to the outside. Inthus-structured monitoring system, the stored result of determinationand the monitoring history data are outputted to the outside. Therefore,if it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, it is possible toalert a staff to the abnormality by light, sound, and like.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, the IC tagmonitoring device may include output means for outputting to the outsidea result of determination made by said determination means, ormonitoring history data containing at least one of the time ofdisappearance that is the point of time at which the communicationavailable state in which said reception circuit can receive saidreflected wave has changed into the communication unavailable state inwhich said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave, or thetime of recovery that is the point of time at which the communicationunavailable state has changed into said communication available state,or the time of ID abnormality that is the point of time at whichidentification data different from the registered data that has beenregistered beforehand has received.

In thus-structured monitoring system, the output means outputs theresult of determination or the monitoring history data to the outside.The monitoring history data contains either one of the time at which thereception circuit has run into a state that it cannot receive thereflected wave (time of disappearance), the time at which the receptioncircuit has recovered into a state that it can receive the reflectedwave again (time of recovery), and the time at which identification datadifferent from the registered data which is registered beforehand hasbeen received due to an unauthorized replacement of the IC tag and thelike (time of ID abnormality). The outputted result of determination andmonitoring history data are used for making an annunciation at theexternal device, or are stored in the external device so that themonitoring history of the IC tag can be referred later. In addition,since the accurate time at which a deceit action has made can be known,if a surveillance camera is provided to an amusement center and the likewhich includes a device provided with the monitoring system, and aperson who has made the deceit action can be specified by checking theimages left in the surveillance camera.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, the outputmeans may not output said determination result and said monitoringhistory data when the result of the determination made by saiddetermination means is normal continuously from the previous time, andwhen the result of the determination made by said determination means isabnormal continuously from the previous time.

In thus-structured monitoring system, the determination result and themonitoring history data are not outputted to the outside when the resultof the determination made by said determination means is normal orabnormal continuously from the previous time. Therefore, if there is nochange in the state, the result of determination and monitoring historydata are not outputted to the outside regardless whether or not thestate is normal or abnormal, but are outputted to the outside only whenthere is a change in the state. With this arrangement, the outputtedresult can be efficiently utilized.

Further, in the monitoring system of the present invention, thetransmission circuit may transmit the calling wave to said IC tag, andmay transmit the calling wave to said IC tag again immediately aftersaid determination means has made determination and said output meanshas made output.

In thus-structured monitoring system, a calling wave is transmitted tothe IC tag. If no reflected wave is received after waiting for aspecified period of time, it is determined that the communicationbecomes unavailable and an abnormality has occurred, and the result ofdetermination and the monitoring history data are outputted to theoutside if necessary. Immediately after that, a calling wave istransmitted to the IC tag again. If the reflected wave is received, itis checked whether or not the identification data contained in thereflected wave is true. If not true, it is determined that anabnormality has occurred. Then, the result of determination and themonitoring history data are outputted to the outside if necessary as isthe case where the communication is unavailable. Immediately after that,a calling wave is transmitted to the IC tag again. If the identificationdata contained in the reflected wave is true, it is determined the stateis normal. Then, the result of determination and the monitoring historydata are outputted to the outside if necessary. Immediately after that,the IC tag is called again. By use of this method, the IC tag is alwayscalled to monitor the state of the device. In this way, an abnormalitycan be found in real time and can be outputted to the outside, or itshistory can be left.

Next, the game machine of a second invention of the present applicationcomprises a monitoring system of the first invention. Thus structuredgame machine can achieve a function and effect of the first invention.

Further, the game machine of the present invention may comprises anencapsulating member that encapsulates a board including a controlelement that controls the game machine thereon, and includes a main bodymember and a covering member detachable from the main body member,wherein one of said IC tag and said antenna may be provided to said mainbody member and the other is provided to said covering member, and bothof said IC tag and said antenna may be encapsulated in saidencapsulating member in the state that said main body member and saidcovering member are assembled.

In thus-structured game machine, the IC tag and the antenna are providedon the main body member and the covering member respectively. The IC tagand the antenna are encapsulated in the encapsulating member when themain body member and the covering member are assembled. With thisarrangement, if the covering member is opened, the relative positionbetween the IC tag and the antenna changes and the communication betweenthem becomes unavailable. By outputting this information to the outsideor storing it to keep its history, a deceit opening action aiming at thereplacement of the board and the like can be detected. If the gamemachine is structured so as to alert immediately, such a structureserves to find deceit actions at an early stage.

Further, the game machine of the present invention may further comprisea movable member that operates when specified conditions areestablished, wherein either one of said IC tag and said antenna may beprovided to said movable member, and in its vicinity where communicationis available, the other may be provided.

In thus-structured game machine, either one of the IC tag and theantenna is provided to the game member including the movable memberwhich operates when the specified conditions have been established in ascoring port, a startup port, and the like, and in its vicinity wherecommunication is available, the other is provided. Therefore, if themovable member operates, the reflected wave cannot be received. Incomparison between the state that the reflected wave cannot be receivedand whether or not the specified conditions have been established, it ispossible to detect whether the operation is a normal operation or adeceit action. In order that the specified conditions are established, alottery should be made when a game medium goes into any scoring hole orgate, and the result of the lottery should fall to a predeterminedscoring value, and the like.

Next, a device management system of a third invention of the presentapplication is a device management system in which a device thatincludes the monitoring system provided with the output means of thefirst invention is connected with a management machine that manages thedevice via a network, wherein said management machine may comprisemonitoring history data reception means for receiving said result ofdetermination that is outputted from said output means or for receivingsaid monitoring history data.

In thus-structured device management system, the monitoring history datareception means of the management machine receives the result ofdetermination and monitoring history data which are outputted from theoutput means of the IC tag monitoring device. Therefore, the monitoringhistory data of the respective devices can be recognized at themanagement machine, and necessary measures can be taken at an earlystage.

Further, in the device management system of the present invention, themanagement machine may further comprise monitoring history data storagemeans for storing said result of determination that said monitoringhistory data reception means has received or said monitoring historydata.

In thus-structured device management system, the monitoring history datastorage means of the management machine stores the received monitoringhistory data. Therefore, all of the monitoring history data of therespective devices are stored at the management machine side, so thatflexible measurement can be taken such as, for example, clearing thedetails of storage in the IC monitoring device or comparing monitoringhistories of plural devices with each other, and the like.

Further, in the device management system of the present invention, themanagement machine may further comprise monitoring history data outputmeans for outputting said result of determination that said monitoringhistory data reception means has received or said monitoring historydata.

In thus-structured device management system, the monitoring history dataoutput means of the management machine outputs the received monitoringhistory data. Therefore, measurement to deceit actions and the like canbe efficiently taken by displaying all of the monitoring histories ofplural devices at a single location or annunciating the deceit actionsusing an alarm lamp, sounds, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system structural diagram of a management system 200;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a pachinko game machine 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a game board 2 of the pachinko game machine 1;and

FIG. 4 is a backside view of the pachinko game machine 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of an R/W unit 56.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a board box 80;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the board box 80;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the board box 80; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the board box 80.

FIG. 10 is a front view of IC tags 86/186.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an attacker member 160 in a state thatan opening-closing door 16 a is closed;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the attacker member 160 in a state thatthe opening-closing door 16 a is opened; and

FIG. 13 is a front view of the management machine 100.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit structure of thepachinko game machine 1;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit structure of theR/W unit 56;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit structure of theIC tag 86; and

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the structure of the managementmachine 100.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a monitoring processing for monitoring thestate of the board box 80;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a monitoring processing for monitoring thestate of the attacker member 160;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing in themanagement machine 100; and

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a history data base.

FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of a board box 80 in amodification;

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of a board box 80 in amodification; and

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a board box 80 in another modification.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described inthe following order with reference to the drawings.

1. Brief description of the system structure

2. Description of the structure of the device

3. Description of the structure of the inventive elements

4. Description of the structure of the hardware inside the device

5. Description of the structure of the inventive hardware elements

6. Description of the operations of the inventive elements

7. Description of the exemplified modifications

8. Effects of the embodiment

1. Brief Description of the System Structure

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a management system 200 obtained byapplying the present invention to a management system of game machinesin an amusement center. In the management system 200, game machineplacement islands, each including a plurality of pachinko game machines1 in the amusement center arranged in two lines back to back with eachother, are respectively provided with a management machine 100, and thepachinko game machines (game machines) 1 placed in the game machineplacement island are connected to the management machine 100 via areader/writer unit (hereinafter, referred to as a “R/W” unit) 56. Thepachinko game machine 1 is provided with a board box 80 located at abackside thereof in which a main control board 41 for controlling thegame machine is contained (see FIG. 4). IC tags are storing ID codes(identification data) respectively provided at opening and closing doorsof the board box 80 and a big scoring hole 16 (see FIG. 2). A callingwave is transmitted to the IC tags and the reflected waves therefrom arereceived, and the ID codes contained in the reflected waves are read soas to detect that the member provided with the IC tag has been opened.The detected result is transmitted to the management machine 100 forallowing the management machine 100 to make an annunciation, so that anyproper action can be taken within the amusement center. In themanagement system 200, each of the R/W units 56 is connected with themanagement machine 100 via a communication cable 150 such as a LANcable. Each of the pachinko game machines 1 includes an independent R/Wunit 56 (IC tag monitoring device) for calling IC tags and readingidentification data therefrom. The management machine 100 is furtherconnected to a central management computer 300 which further manages theoverall amusement center. The central management computer 300 entirelymanages each of the management devices 100.

2. Description of the Structure of the Device

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pachinko game machine 1, and FIG. 3 is afront view of a game board 2 of the pachinko game machine 1. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, the substantially square-shaped game board 2 is providedat an upper half of front side of the pachinko game machine 1. The gameboard 2 has a substantially round-shaped game area 4 surrounded by aguide rail 3. The game board 2 is covered with a transparent glass boardfor protecting the game area 4 and allowing a game player to see thegame board 2. The glass board is supported by a glass frame 13. At alower portion of the game board 2 of the pachinko game machine 1, anupper tray 5 is provided for supplying game balls to an unillustratedlaunching machine and receiving prize balls. Immediately below the uppertray 5, a lower tray 6 is provided for receiving prize balls. Alaunching handle 7 is provided at a right side of the lower tray 6, anda speaker 48 is provided between the upper tray 5 and the lower tray 6.

At a substantially center portion in the game area 4, a special designdisplay device 8 having a liquid crystal display screen is provided. Thespecial design display device 8 includes a first design stop portion L1,a second design stop portion L2, a third design stop portion L3, and anordinary design display portion 8 a. The ordinary design display portion8 a can display a number in single figure, a single alphabet, a symbolor a mark. An illuminated windmill 9 is provided with above right of thespecial design display device 8. An illuminated windmill 10 is providedabove left of the special design display device 8. Further, at the rightof the special design display device 8, an ordinary design startup gate11 is provided, and an ordinary design startup gate 12 is provided atthe left of the special design display device 8. In addition, a specialdesign startup device 15 is provided below the special design displaydevice 8, and the big scoring hole 16 is provided below the specialdesign startup device 15. The game board 2 also includes, on top of theabove, various illumination lamps, windmills, a large number ofobstruction pegs, and the like.

Next, a structure of the backside of the pachinko game machine 1 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a backside view of thepachinko game machine 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the board box 80 in whichthe main control board 41 for performing main control to the pachinkogame machine 1 is contained is provided at the lower left side on thebackside of the pachinko game machine 1. A sound board 43 is locatednext to the right side of the board box 80, and an electric power board42 is located next to the upper right side of the sound board 43, and anejection control board 45 is located below the electric power board 42.The sound board 43, the electric power board 42, and the ejectioncontrol board 45 are respectively contained in a transparent resin box.Further, a center covering 90 is located above the board box 80 forprotecting the backside of the game board and covering various wirings.The R/W unit 56 for calling an IC tag and reading the ID code therefromis provided at the outside of the center covering 90.

3. Description of the Structure of the Inventive Elements

Next, the R/W (reader/writer) unit 56, used as an IC tag monitoringdevice, will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is anexploded perspective view of the R/W unit 56. As shown in FIG. 5, theR/W unit 56 is attached to the outside of the center covering 90 abovethe board box 80 (see FIG. 4). The R/W unit 56 is structured as a unitindependent from the pachinko game machine 1 and supplied with anelectric power from the game machine placement island. As shown in FIG.5, the R/W unit 56 includes a CPU 56 a, RAM 56 b, ROM 56 c, EEPROM 56 d,RF circuit 56 g, LAN card 56 h, and input port 56 i. The R/W unit 56 isconnected with antennas 68 and 168 (described later) from the RF circuit56 g, used as transmitting circuit and receiving circuit, through acoaxial cable 56 k, and is connected with the management machine 100from the LAN card 56 h through the LAN cable. Further, the R/W unit 56receives a signal from the main control board 41 of the pachinko gamemachine 1 via the input port 56 i. The R/W unit 56 performs wirelesscommunication with IC tags 86 and/or 186 via the antennas 68 and 168respectively. The R/W unit 56 also includes a seven-segmented displayunit 69 which lights up when any abnormality occurs in the communicationwith the IC tag 86 or 186. When the IC tags come into a state that theycannot be identified or an error occurs in their IDs and an abnormalityin opening and closing operations is detected at the location where thepachinko game machine 1 is placed, the seven-segmented display unit 69specifies the location where the abnormality has occurred (for example,by means of a mark such as A or B) and displays an accumulated totalnumber of times that the abnormalities (opening and closing operations)have occurred.

Next, a structure of the board box 80 will be described with referenceto FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the board box 80; FIG. 7 is aperspective view of the board box 80; and FIGS. 8 and 9 are explodedperspective views of the board box 80.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the board box 80 includes an upper lid portion80 a made of transparent resin in a substantially rectangular shape seenfrom its flat plane, and a lower lid portion 80 c made of transparentresin also in a substantially rectangular shape seen from its flatplane. Further, the main control board 41 for performing main control tothe pachinko game machine 1 is provided on the lower lid portion 80 copposing to the upper lid portion 80 a. As shown in FIG. 9, an IC tag 86in a small size and rectangular shape is attached on the backside of theupper lid portion 80 a by an adhesive agent and the like.

Here, a structure of the IC tag 86 will be described. FIG. 10 is a planview of the IC tag 86. As shown in FIG. 10, the IC tag 86 includes an ICchip 86 d in which an RF circuit 86 a and an EEPROM 86 c (see FIG. 16)are integrally formed on a thin flexible printed board, and an antennacircuit 86 b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a coil-shaped antenna 68 is provided at thelower right end of the main control board 41 for performing RF (radiofrequency wireless) transmission and reception with the IC tag 86 bymeans of electromagnetic waves. The antenna 68 is connected with the R/Wunit 56 by the coaxial cable 56 k. In this embodiment, the IC tag 86 andthe antenna 68 perform communication with each other at a short wavebandwidth of 13.56 MHz. The antenna 68 and the IC tag 86 are located sothat their distance is about 3 mm in a state that the upper lid portion80 a and the lower lid portion 80 c are assembled. At this distance, theRF transmission and reception is possible, and the IC tag 86 can respondto the calling from the R/W unit 56 via the antenna 21 68. On the otherhand, the antenna 68 and the IC tag 86 are designed so that thecommunication therebetween is impossible if the distance exceeds about 5mm. This communication available distance is adjustable by the number ofturns of coils of the antenna 68 or a reactance value. Since thecommunication available distance is set in this manner, it is possibleto detect even if the upper covering portion 80 a is slightly opened. Inaddition, the communication available distance is arranged in such amanner that a slight swing due to vibration and the like does not causeunavailability of the communication.

The communication between the antenna 68 and the IC tag 86 is performedusing electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in order to prevent erroneousactions due to the influence by noises from other members usingelectromagnetic waves, the IC tag 86 and the antenna 68 are located atthe lower right end of the main control board 41. This location is apartfrom a prize ball ejecting device 49 and a launching motor 67 (describedlater) both using a solenoid.

Next, placement of an IC tag to an attacker member 160 provided with abig scoring hole 16, a kind of variable scoring device which opens andcloses its door when a specified condition is established, will bedescribed in detail based on FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a perspectiveview of the attacker member 160 with its opening-closing door 16 aclosed. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the attacker member 160 withits opening-closing door 16 a opened.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, an IC tag 186 in the same shape as the ICtag 86 described above (see FIG. 10) is attached onto the surface of theopening-closing door 16 a of the attacker member 160. Then, a decorativeseal and the like is attached onto the IC tag 186 so as to cover the ICtag 186 so that the IC tag 186 is not visible by the game player. Aloop-shaped antenna 168 is provided around the big scoring hole 16,which is an opening of the attacker member 160, so as to surround the ICtag 186. The antenna 168 is connected to the R/W unit 56 via the coaxialcable 56 k. When the big scoring hole 16 is in its closed state shown inFIG. 11, the IC tag 186 and the antenna 168 are substantially flush witheach other. The IC tag 186 has an directivity in a transmitting andreceiving direction, and can perform transmission and reception onlywhen it is located in parallel with the antenna. When theopening-closing door 16 a is in its closed state as shown in FIG. 11,the antenna 168 and the IC tag 186 are in parallel with each other.Therefore, the IC tag 186 returns a reflected wave in response to acalling wave from the R/W unit 56 via the antenna 168. Contrarily, whenthe opening-closing door 16 a is opened as shown in FIG. 12, the IC tag186 and the antenna 168 are not in parallel with each other and form anangle therebetween which is beyond a communication available criticalangle. As a result, the IC tag 186 cannot respond to the calling fromthe R/W unit 56.

As described above, the communication between the antenna 168 and the ICtag 186 is performed using electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in order toprevent erroneous actions due to the influence by noises from othermembers using electromagnetic waves, the IC tag 186 and the antenna 168are located at positions apart from a big scoring hole opening solenoid70 (described later) located to the back of the attacker member 160 atits left side.

Next, a structure of the management machine 100 will be described withreference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a front view of the management machine100. A shown in FIG. 13, the management machine 100 includes an alarmlamp 108 at its upper portion and a display unit 107 at its frontportion. The alarm lamp 108 includes, at its upper side, a red lamp 108a for annunciating that the opening-closing door 16 a of the big scoringhole 16 has been opened, and also includes, at its lower side, a bluelamp 108 b for annunciating that the board box 80 has been openedunfairly. When it is detected that the opening-closing door 16 a of thebig scoring hole 16 has been unfairly opened or the board box 80 hasbeen opened at any one of the pachinko game machines 1 connected to themanagement machine 100, and this detection result is annunciated to themanagement machine 100, the lamps 108 a and/or 108 b illuminate toattract the attention of the staffs of the amusement center. The displayunit 107 displays which member of which pachinko game machine 1 has beendetected as having been opened. In FIG. 13, the display unit 107displays that the attacker (the opening-closing door 16 a of the bigscoring hole 16) of the 104th pachinko game machine 1 has been unfairlyopened, and the red lamp 108 a illuminates. The alarm lamp 108 turns offafter about 5 seconds. The display on the display unit 107 can be erasedwhen a staff logs on as an administrator through inputting a secretidentification number and the like and then presses a clear button 110.

4. Description of the Structure of the Hardware Inside the Device

Next, an electric structure of the pachinko game machine 1 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showingan electric circuit structure of the pachinko game machine 1. Thepachinko game machine 1 has its control section 40 at its backside. Thecontrol section 40 includes a main control board 41, a power supplyboard 42, a sound board 43, a design display board 44, an ejectioncontrol board 45, an illumination board 46, a relay board 47, and alaunching board 66. The main board 41 includes an LSI 50 for performingvarious processings in accordance with a program (see FIG. 8). The LSI50 includes a CPI 51 for performing various calculations, a RAM 52 forstoring flags, counter values, data, programs and the like, and a ROM 53for storing data of control programs and various kinds of initialvalues, and data of contents to be displayed on the special designdisplay device 8. The CPU 51, the RAM 52, and the ROM 53 are integrallymolded into one piece unit as a single LSI.

The main control board 41 also includes an I/O interface 54 forperforming transmission and reception of data signals with the soundboard 43, the design display board 44, the ejection control board 45,the illumination board 46, the relay board 47, and the like. The I/Ointerface 54 is connected with an output port 55 for outputting variouskinds of game information of the pachinko game machine 1 to the centralmanagement computer 300. Alternatively, it may be structured such thatvarious kinds of game information of the pachinko game machine 1 areoutputted to the central management computer 300 via the R/W unit 56.

The sound board 43, the design display board 44, the ejection controlboard 45, the illumination board 46, and the launching board 66 are alsorespectively provided with a CPU (not shown), a RAM (not shown), a ROM(not shown), and an I/O interface (not shown). The main control board 41performs a main control to the pachinko game machine 1. The power supplyboard 42 converts an alternate current (24V), which has been suppliedthereto from the game machine placement island, into a direct current,and supplies this direct current to the respective boards. The soundboard 43 controls generation of effect sounds of the pachinko gamemachine 1. The design display board 44 controls the special designdisplay device 8. The ejection control board 45 controls the prize-ballejection device 49. The illumination board 46 controls illuminationstates of various illuminations of the pachinko game machine 1. Therelay board 47 relays wirings between various sensors. The launchingboard 66 controls the launching motor 67 for launching game balls.

The illumination board 46 is connected with an LED 62 and anillumination lamp 63. The design display board 44 is connected with thespecial design display device 8. The sound board 43 is connected with aspeaker 48. The ejection control board 45 is connected with theprize-ball ejecting device 49. The relay board 47 is connected with abig scoring hole opening solenoid 70 for opening the opening-closingdoor 16 a of the big scoring hole 16, a special design startup deviceopening solenoid 71, a startup port sensor 72 for detecting the gameball which has run into the special design startup device 15, a ordinarydesign actuating sensor 73 for detecting game balls which have passedthrough the ordinary design startup gates 11 or 12, a V sensor 74 fordetecting the game ball which has entered the V zone in the big scoringhole 16, a count sensor 75 for counting the number of game balls whichhave entered the big scoring hole 16, and a scoring hole sensor 76 fordetecting win balls which have entered into the ordinary scoring holes19 or 20 and are collected to a win ball collecting section through anunillustrated guide passage.

The power supply board 42 is connected with the main control board 41,the sound board 43, the design display board 44, the ejection controlboard 45, and the illumination board 46 respectively, so that astabilized electric power of direct current is supplied to these boards.The power supply board 42 is supplied with an alternate current of 24V.The power supply board 42 includes a rectifier made of an unillustratedsilicon diode bridge, a smoothing circuit made of electrolysiscapacitor, a stabilizing circuit made of a regulator IC, and the like.With this arrangement, the power supply board 42 can supply a stabilizeddirect current at 12V and 5V, and the like. Although not illustrated inFIG. 14, the main control board 41, the power supply board 42, the soundboard 43, the design display board 44, the ejection control board 45,the illumination board 46, and the relay board 47 are all connected witheach other through a ground line.

5. Description of the Structure of the Inventive Hardware

Next, an electric structure of the R/W unit 56 will be described withreference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an electriccircuit diagram of the R/W unit 56. The R/W unit 56 includes a CPU 56 afor performing various calculations, a RAM 56 b for temporarily storingflags, data, and the like, a ROM 56 c for storing control programs, dataof various initial values, and the like, an EEPROM 56 d for storingcommunication history with the IC tags 86 and/or 186, an I/O interface56 e, a timer 56 f, an RF circuit 56 g for releasing a calling wave tothe IC tags 86 and/or 186 and receiving reflected waves from the IC tags86 and/or 186, a LAN card 56 h to be connected with a communicationcircuit 106 of the management machine 100, an input port 56 i forreceiving various signals from the main control board 41 of the pachinkogame machine, and a seven-segmented display unit 69.

The CPU 56 a transmits a calling wave from the RF circuit 56 g to the ICtags 86 and/or 186 via the antennas 68 and/or 168. If there is a changein the presence or absence of the reflected waves from the IC tags 86and/or 186, the EEPROM 56 d stores the time. In the case where thereflected wave has returned, the CPU 56 a immediately transmits a nextcalling wave. Contrarily, in the case where no reflected wave hasreturned, the EEPROM 56 d stores the time and the CPU 56 a againtransmits a next calling wave. In this manner, the R/W unit 56 almostalways makes communication with the IC tags 86 and/or 186 to check theirstates. The I/O interface 56 e is connected with the communicationcircuit 106 of the management machine 100 via the LAN card 56 h. The I/Ointerface 56 e transmits to the communication circuit 106 an ID code andmonitoring history data of the time of disappearance, the time ofrecovery, and the like. The R/W unit 56 receives various signals such asa big hit signal and the like from the main control board 41 of thepachinko game machine 1 via the input port 56 i. The received big hitsignal is used for checking that the opening-closing door 16 a of thebig scoring hole 16 has been normally opened during the processing formonitoring the opening action of the opening-closing door 16 a.

Next, an electric structure of the IC tag 86 will be described withreference to FIG. 16. The IC tag 186 also has an identical electricstructure. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an electric structure ofthe IC tag 86. The IC tag 86 includes an RF circuit 86 a for releasing areflected wave in response to the calling wave from the R/W unit 56, acoil antenna 86 b, and an EEPROM 86 c. The EEPROM 86 c stores an ID codefor distinguishing the IC tag 86 from other IC tags 86 andidentification data of manufacturer ID, an amusement center ID, and thelike in its over-writing and erase prohibited area. When a calling waveis sent from the R/W unit 56 via the antenna 68, the coil antenna 86 breceives it. This calling wave contains a carrier wave component.Thus-received calling wave is rectified by the RF circuit 86 a so as toproduce a direct current voltage. Therefore, the IC tag 86 is capable oftransmitting data whenever necessary without using battery or externalpower supply. When data is to be transmitted, the identification data ofID code and the like is read from the EEPROM 86 c and is put onto thereflected wave. Then, thus-produced data is transmitted from the RFcircuit 86 a toward the antenna 68. It is also possible that data of thetime of disappearance or the time of recovery, which has beentemporarily store in the RAM 56 b of the R/W unit 56 is received laterand is stored in the EEPROM 86 c.

Next, an electric structure of the management machine 100 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showingan electric structure of the management machine 100. As shown in FIG.17, the management machine 100 includes a CPU 101 for performing variouscalculations, a RAM 102 for temporarily storing flags, data, and thelike, a ROM 103 for storing control program, data of various initialvalues, and the like, an EEPROM 104 for storing an administrative rightdata base and a history data base, an I/O interface 105 for performingtransmission and reception of data with the R/W unit 56, a communicationcircuit 106, a display unit 107 for displaying the received monitoringhistory data, an alarm lamp 108 which is illuminated based on thereceived monitoring history data, and a clear button 110 for erasing thedisplayed contents on the display unit 107.

The ROM 103 stores a management program. The CPU 101 calls out themanagement program and executes management. The communication circuit106 receives an ID code and monitoring history data of the time ofdisappearance, the time of recovery and the like from the I/O interface56 e of the R/W unit 56 via the LAN card 56 h and through thecommunication cable 150 such as a LAN cable. Based on the receivedmonitoring history data, the display unit 107 makes a display and thealarm lamp 108 illuminates.

6. Description of the Operations of the Inventive Elements

Next, a monitoring processing for monitoring the state of the board box80 performed in the R/W unit 56 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a monitoring processingfor monitoring the state of the board box 80. The R/W unit 56 alwaysmonitors the board box 80, regardless of whether the amusement center isopen or at night. In this embodiment, the R/W unit 56 receives electricpower from the power supply of the game machine placement island, andthe game machine placement island power supply remains powered even atnight.

First, the CPU 56 a in the R/W unit 56 transmits a calling wave to theIC tag 86 from the RF circuit 56 g via the antenna 68 for polling (S1),and waits that the IC tag 86 returns the reflected wave with the ID code(identification data) carried thereon. Next, it is determined whetherthe reflected wave has been returned from the IC tag 86 within aspecified period of time (S3). In this embodiment, the length of waitingtime is set to 50 milliseconds.

If the reflected wave containing a true ID code is returned from the ICtag 86 within the specified period of time and this response iscontinuous from the previous time, the board box 80 can be determined asbeing in a normal state. In this determination, specifically, thefollowing steps are executed. If a response has been returned within thespecified period of time (S3: YES), it is determined whether or not thereturned ID code is correct (S13). If the ID code is correct (S13: YES),it is determined whether the ID error flag is ON (S23). The ID errorflag is used for checking whether or not a correct ID is returnedcontinuously from the previous time. If the ID error flag is OFF (S23:NO), this means that a correct ID is returned continuously from theprevious time. Next, it is determined whether or not a disappearanceflag is ON (S27). The disappearance flag is used for checking whether ornot a response has been made from the IC tag 86 within the period oftime specified at a previous time. If the disappearance flag is OFF(S27: NO), this means that an ID code has been returned from the IC tag86 within the specified period of time also at a previous time.Therefore, a correct ID code is returned within the specified period oftime continuously from the previous time. As a result, the board box 80is determined as being in a normal state, and nothing is stored and nodata is transmitted to the management machine 100. Then, the processdirectly proceeds to S35.

If no response is returned within the specified period of time (S3: NO),the IC tag 86 may be distanced to be out of the range in which thecommunication with the antenna 68 is available, unless the machine isout of order. In this case, there is a possibility that the uppercovering portion 80 a of the board box 80 to which the IC tag 86 isattached has been opened. At this point of time, the board box 80 isdetermined as being in an abnormal state. Next, it is determined whetheror not this abnormal state is continued. If the abnormal state iscontinued, the time is already stored and the data showing abnormalstate is already transmitted to the management machine 100 as will bedescribed later. Therefore, it is needed to neither store nor transmitdata on top of the data of the case where there is no change in thestate. This arrangement saves storage capacity. Specifically, it isdetermined whether or not the disappearance flag stored in the EEPROM 56d is OFF (S5). The disappearance flag is set to ON as far as no responseis returned from the IC tag, and is set to OFF as far as a response isreturned from the IC tag. If the disappearance flag is ON instead of OFF(S5: NO), this is a case where no response has been returnedcontinuously from the previous calling. Therefore, no subsequentprocessing is performed any more and the process proceeds to S35.

If the disappearance flag is OFF (S5: YES), this means that this is thefirst time that no response is returned. In this case, it is determinedthat any change has occurred in the state and the time at which pollinghas been made on the IC tag is stored in the EEPROM 56 d as the time ofdisappearance (S7). Then, the disappearance flag is turned ON (S9).Next, an ID code is combined with the time of disappearance and istransmitted from the I/O interface 56 e and the LAN card 56 h to themanagement machine 100 via the communication cable 150 such as a LANcable (S1). Then, the process proceeds to S35. In this manner asdescribed above, a history is stored at the point of time when anabnormality has occurred and data is transmitted to the managementmachine 100, and the management machine 100 makes an annunciation.

If a response has been returned within the specified period of time (S3:YES) but the returned ID code is incorrect (S13: NO), there is apossibility that a deceit action of replacement of the IC tag 86 hasbeen made. At this point of time, the board box 80 is determined asbeing in an abnormal state. Then, it is determined, as is performed inthe case where no response is obtained, whether or not this abnormalstate is continuous. Specifically, it is determined whether or not theID error flag is OFF (S15). The ID error flag is set to ON as far as theID code is not correct. If the ID error flag is ON instead of OFF (S15:NO), this is the case where the ID code is not correct continuously fromthe previous time. No subsequent processing is performed any more andthe process proceeds to S35.

If the ID error flag is OFF (S15: YES), this means that this is thefirst time that the ID code is not correct. In this case, the pollingtime is stored in the EEPROM 56 d as the time when the ID error hasoccurred (S17). Then, the ID error flag is turned ON (S19).Subsequently, the ID code is combined with the ID error occurrence timeand is transmitted from the I/O interface 56 e and the LAN card 56 h tothe management machine 100 via the communication cable 150 such as a LANcable (S21). Then, the process proceeds to S35.

If the ID code is correct (S13: YES), it is determined whether or notthe ID error flag is ON (S23). If the ID error flag is ON (S23: YES),this means that the ID code has returned to a correct ID code this time,and the ID error flag is turned OFF (S25). Then, it is determinedwhether or not the disappearance flag is ON (S27).

If the disappearance flag is ON (S27: YES), this means that the IC tagwhich has not responded previous time has responded this time. In thiscase, it is determined that there is a change in the state and the timeat which the response has been returned this time is stored in theEEPROM 56 d as the time of recovery (S29). The EEPROM 56 d completes tostore the time of disappearance when the response stops. By also storingthe time of recovery at this time, it becomes possible to calculate theperiod of time during when the board box 80 has been opened. Then, thedisappearance flag is turned OFF (S31). Subsequently, the ID code iscombined with the time of recovery, and is transmitted to the managementmachine 100 via the communication cable 150 such as a LAN cable (S33).Then, it is determined whether or not the processing is finished (S35).If finished (S35: YES), the processing is end. If still not finished(S35: NO), the process returns to S1 and the processing is continued.

The processing is performed as described above, and if a true ID code isreturned within the specified period of time continuously from thecalling of the previous time, the board box 80 is determined as being ina normal state and the process returns to a step in which the polling tothe ID code is performed (S1). If no response is returned within thespecified period of time, or if there is a response within the specifiedperiod of time but the response has a wrong ID code, the board box 80 isdetermined as being in an abnormal state. In any case, it is checkedwhether or not the state is continued from the previous time, and thetime is stored only when this is the first time that the state haschanged. Even if a true ID code is returned within the specified periodof time but no response has been returned at the previous time, it isdetermined that there is a change in the state even if the state isnormal and the time is stored. Then, data is transmitted to themanagement machine 100 on top of the storage of the time. When thestorage or data transmission is performed, the process returns to S1immediately after a series of processings is finished and calls out theID code again. In the manner as described above, the IC tag 86 is alwayscalled out to check its state, and a necessary processing is performedbased on the result of determination. With this arrangement, it ispossible to check the abnormality in the board box 80 and store thehistory of the change in the state by means of a minimum storagecapacity, thereby performing monitoring efficiently.

Next, a monitoring processing for monitoring the state of the attackermember 160 performed in the R/W unit 56 will be described with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 19. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the monitoringprocessing for monitoring the state of the attacker member 160. Thesequence of the processing is almost the same as the monitoringprocessing performed for the board box 80 except for the following. Thatis, different from the board box 80, since the opening-closing door 16 aof the big scoring hole 16 of the attacker member 160 is normally openedat the time of big hit, it is necessary to receive a big hit signal fromthe main control board 41 so as to check whether or not this is a normalopening action. After the amusement center is closed and the electricpower of the pachinko game machines 1 is turned off, it is next toimpossible to unfairly open the opening-closing door 16 a of the bigscoring hole 16 in the guise of big hit. Therefore, the monitoringprocessing is not performed for the attacker member 160.

First, the CPU 56 a in the R/W unit 56 transmits a calling wave from theRF circuit 56 g to the IC tag 186 via the antenna 168 for palling(S101), and waits that the IC tag 186 returns an ID code (identificationdata). Next, it is determined whether or not a reflected wave has beenreturned from the IC tag 186 within a specified period of time (S103) Inthis embodiment, the wait time is set to 50 milliseconds.

If a true ID code is returned from the IC tag 186 within the specifiedperiod of time and the response is continued from the previous time, itcan be determined that the opening-closing door 16 a of the big scoringhole 16 is not opened. In this determination, specifically, thefollowing processings are preformed. If a response has been returnedwithin the specified period of time (S103: YES), it is determinedwhether or not the returned ID code is correct (S113). If the ID code iscorrect (S113: YES), it is determined whether or not an ID error flag isON (S123). The ID error flag is used for determining whether or not acorrect ID has been returned continuously from the previous time. If theID error flag is OFF (S123: NO), this means that a correct ID has beenreturned continuously from the previous time. Next, it is determinedwhether or not the disappearance flag is ON (S127). The disappearanceflag is used for checking whether or not a response has been returnedfrom the IC tag 186 within the period of time set at the previous time.If the disappearance flag is OFF (S127: NO), this means that the ID codehas been returned from the IC tag 186 also at the previous time withinthe specified period of time. Since a correct ID code has been returnedwithin the specified period of time continuously from the previous time,it is determined that the opening-closing door 16 a of the big scoringhole 16 is not opened. In this case neither storage nor datatransmission to the management machine 100 is performed, and the processdirectly proceeds to S135.

If a response is not returned within the specified period of time (S103:NO), it is imagined that the opening-closing door 16 a to which the ICtag 186 is attached has been opened, except that the machine is out oforder. Then, it is determined whether or not a big hit signal has beenreceived from the output port 55 of the main control board 41 to theinput port 56 i (S104). If a big hit signal has been received (S104:YES), this means that the opening-closing door 16 a of the big scoringhole 16 has normally been opened due to a big hit, and the processdirectly proceeds to S135. If no big hit signal has been received (S104:NO), the big scoring hole 16 is in an abnormal state at this point oftime. Then, it is determined whether or not this abnormal state iscontinued. If the abnormal state is continued, the time is alreadystored and the abnormal data is already transmitted to the managementmachine as will be described later. Therefore, it is needed to neitherstore nor transmit data on top of the data of the case where there is nochange in the state. This arrangement saves storage capacity.Specifically, it is determined whether or not the disappearance flagstored in the EEPROM 56 d is OFF (S105). The disappearance flag is setto ON as far as no response is returned from the IC tag, and is set toOFF as far as a response is returned from the IC tag. If thedisappearance flag is ON instead of OFF (S105: NO), this is a case whereno response has been returned continuously from the previous calling.Therefore, no subsequent processing is performed anymore and the processproceeds to S135.

If the disappearance flag is OFF (S105: YES), this means that this isthe first time that no response is returned. In this case, it isdetermined that any change has occurred in the state and the time atwhich polling has been made on the IC tag is stored in the EEPROM 56 das the time of disappearance (S107). Then, the disappearance flag isturned ON (S109). Next, an ID code is combined with the time ofdisappearance and is transmitted to the management machine 100 via thecommunication cable 150 such as a LAN cable (S111). Then, the processproceeds to S135. In this manner as described above, a history is storedat the point of time when an abnormality has occurred and data istransmitted to the management machine 100, and the management machine100 makes an annunciation.

If a response has been returned within the specified period of time(S103: YES) but the returned ID code is incorrect (S113: NO), there is apossibility that a deceit action of replacement of the IC tag 186 hasbeen made. At this point of time, the big scoring hole 16 is determinedas being in an abnormal state. Then, it is determined, as is performedin the case where no response is obtained, whether or not this abnormalstate is continuous. Specifically, it is determined whether or not theID error flag is OFF (S115). The ID error flag is set to ON as far asthe ID code is not correct. If the ID error flag is ON instead of OFF(S115: NO), this is the case where the ID code is not correctcontinuously from the previous time. No subsequent processing isperformed any more and the process proceeds to S135.

If the ID error flag is OFF (S115: YES), this means that this is thefirst time that the ID code is not correct. In this case, the pollingtime is stored in the EEPROM 56 d as the time when the ID error hasoccurred (S117). Then, the ID error flag is turned ON (S119).Subsequently, the ID code is combined with the ID error occurrence timeand is transmitted from the I/O interface 56 e to the management machine100 via the communication cable 150 such as a LAN cable (S121). Then,the process proceeds to S135.

If the ID code is correct (S113: YES), it is determined that the IDerror flag is ON (S123). If the ID error flag is ON (S123: YES), thismeans that the ID code has returned to a correct ID code this time, andthe ID error flag is turned OFF (S125). Then, it is determined that thedisappearance flag is ON (S127).

If the disappearance flag is ON (S127: YES), this means that the IC tagwhich has not responded previous time has responded this time. In thiscase, it is determined that there is a change in the state and the timeat which the response has been returned this time is stored in theEEPROM 56 d as the time of recovery (S129). The EEPROM 56 d completes tostore the time of disappearance when the response stops. By also storingthe time of recovery at this time, it becomes possible to calculate theperiod of time during when the opening-closing door 16 a of the bigscoring hole 16 has been opened. Then, the disappearance flag is turnedOFF (S131). Subsequently, the ID code is combined with the time ofrecovery, and is transmitted to the management machine 100 via thecommunication cable 150 such as a LAN cable (S133). Then, it isdetermined whether or not the processing is finished (S135). If finished(S135: YES), the processing is end. If still not finished (S135: NO),the process returns to S101 and the processing is continued.

The processing is performed as described above, and if a true ID code isreturned within the specified period of time continuously from thecalling of the previous time, the attacker member 160 is determined asbeing in a normal state and the process returns to a step in which thepolling to the ID code is performed (S101). If no response is returnedwithin the specified period of time and no big hit is made, or if thereis a response within the specified period of time but the response has awrong ID code, the opening-closing door 16 a of the big scoring hole 16is determined as being in an abnormal state. In any case, it is checkedwhether or not the state is continued from the previous time, and thetime is stored only when this is the first time that the state haschanged. Even if a true ID code is returned within the specified periodof time but no response has been returned although no big hit was madeat the previous time, it is determined that there is a change in thestate even if the state is normal and the time is stored. Then, data istransmitted to the management machine 100 on top of the storage of thetime. When the storage or data transmission is performed, the processreturns to S101 immediately after a series of processings is finishedand calls out the ID code. In the manner as described above, the IC tagis always called out to check its state, and a necessary processing isperformed based on the result of determination. With this arrangement,it is possible to check the abnormality in the attacker member 160 andstore the history of the change in the state by means of a minimumstorage capacity, thereby performing monitoring efficiently.

Next, a processing performed in the management machine 100 will bedescribed based on the flowchart of FIG. 20 and the history data base ofFIG. 21. FIG. 20 is a flowchart schematically showing the processingperformed in the management machine 100. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagramshowing a history data base to be stored in the EEPROM 104 of themanagement machine 100.

When the amusement center is opened and the electric power of themanagement machine 100 is turned on, the processings in S301 to S311 ofthe opening of the amusement center are performed. First, an input by astaff is accepted and it is determined whether or not the administrativeright has been confirmed through such as a password, an ID card, and thelike (S301). The administrative right is checked by the administrativeright data base stored in the EEPROM 104 of the management machine 100and comparing the input password or the ID of the staff with thepassword or the ID stored in the data base. If administrative right isnot confirmed(S301: NO), the processing is finished. If administrativeright is confirmed(S301: YES), polling is performed for the R/W unit 56belonging to each pachinko game machine 1 via the communication cable150 (S303). Then, a monitoring history during the time when theamusement center is closed is received (S305). If an error history isreceived (S307: YES), the history is stored in the history data base ofthe EEPROM 104 (S309), and the details of the error is displayed on thedisplay unit 107 (S311).

After the processing of the opening of the amusement center is finished,the monitoring processing in S312 to S341 during when the amusementcenter is open is repeated. First, it is determined whether or not datahas been received from the R/W unit 56 belonging to the pachinko gamemachine 1 (S312). If data has been received (S312: YES), it isdetermined whether or not the data is ID error data (S327). If the datais ID error data (S327: YES), the machine number of the pachinko gamemachine 1 and the location (kind) of the IC tag where the ID error hasoccurred are determined from the ID code. The information and the timewhen the ID error has occurred are stored in the history data base ofthe EEPROM 104 (S329). As shown in FIG. 21, the history data base storesabout a week of ID codes, the machine numbers of the pachinko gamemachines 1, the locations (kinds) of the IC tags which have fallen in astate that they cannot be identified, the times of disappearance, thetimes of recovery, the periods of time during which the identificationis impossible from the time of disappearance to the time of recovery,and the times when the ID error has occurred. Then, an error message isdisplayed on the display unit 107, such as “ID error has occurred in theboard box of XXth pachinko game machine” (S335), and the correspondingalarm lamp is illuminated (S337). When the alarm lamp is illuminated andthe error message is displayed on the display unit 107, a staff of theamusement center on patrol and the like becomes aware of the states ofthe board box 80 or the big scoring hole 16, and goes to the pachinkogame machine 1 in question to check its state.

If the received data is not ID error data (S327: NO), it is determinedwhether or not the received data is disappearance data which is acombination of the ID code with the time of disappearance (S331). If thereceived data is disappearance data (S331: YES), the machine number ofthe pachinko game machine 1 and the location (kind) where thedisappeared IC tag has been placed are determined from the ID code, andthe information and the time of disappearance are stored in the historydata base of the EEPROM 104 (S333). Then, an error message displayed onthe display unit 107, such as “the attacker of XXth pachinko gamemachine has been unfairly opened” as shown in FIG. 13 (S335), and thecorresponding alarm lamp is illuminated (S337).

If the received data is not disappearance data (S331: NO), it isrecovery data obtained from the IC tag which has been temporarily in acommunication unavailable state and then returned to a communicationavailable state. The sent ID code is searched on the history data base,and the time of recovery is stored in the corresponding record. Further,the period of time where the identification has been impossible from thetime of disappearance to the time of recovery is calculated and stored(S339). Then, the process proceeds to S341.

If no data has been received from the R/W unit 56 (S312: NO), it isdetermined whether or not a manual operation by a staff of the amusementcenter and the like has been made (S313). If no manual operation hasbeen made (S313: NO), the process returns to S312. If a manual operationhas been made (S313: YES), it is determined whether or not theadministrative right has been confirmed (S315). If no administrativeright is confirmed (S315: NO), the process returns to S312. Ifadministrative right is confirmed (S315: YES), it is determined whetheror not the clear button 110 for erasing the display on the display unithas been pressed (S317). If the display is to be erased (S317: YES), theerror message displayed on the display unit 107 is erased (S319). Asshown in FIG. 13, the display unit 107 of the management machine 100displays the machine number of the pachinko game machine 1 and thelocation of the IC tag which has been lost (the board box 80 and/or theattacker member 160). At the same time, the alarm lamp 108 b isilluminated in the case of the board box 80 and the alarm lamp 108 a isilluminated in the case of the attacker member 160. When a staff and thelike of the amusement center is notified of such an annunciation andresponds to the abnormality in the amusement center, the displaythereafter is not needed any more, and the display is erased by a manualoperation. When the processing of erasing the display is finished, theprocess returns to S312 where the reception of data is waited.

If the display is not to be erased (S317: NO), it is determined whetheror not clearing the history data is requested (S321). The history datastored in the IC tag or R/W unit 56 is cleared when a clear command isreceived after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, so that newhistory data can be stored. After the history data is transmitted to thecentral management computer 300, it is not needed to store the historyin the IC tag, the R/W unit 56, or the management machine 100 any more.By periodically clearing history data, the IC tag and the R/W unit canbe structured with a small storage capacity. If clearing of the historydata is requested (S321: YES), the history data stored in the IC tag,the R/W unit 56, and/or the EEPROM 104 of the management machine 100 iserased (S323). Then, the process returns to S312 where the reception ofdata is waited. If clearing of history data is not requested(S321: NO),polling is performed to the R/W unit 56 (S325) and the reception of datais waited (S312). The R/W unit 56 is called out by manipulating thekeyboard of the management machine 100. In the manner as describedabove, a staff of the amusement center and the like can check the statesof the board box 80 and the big scoring hole 16 to be monitored whenevernecessary.

When the processing in S337 or S339 is finished, it is determinedwhether or not the entire processing should be finished (S341). If theentire processing should be finished (S341: YES), the entire processingis finished. If the entire processing should not be finished (S341: NO),the process returns to S312 and the reception of data is waited.

7. Description of the Exemplified Modifications

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above,and various modifications may be made. Hereinafter, exemplifiedmodifications of this embodiment to which the present invention isapplied are described. First, in the embodiment of the presentinvention, the R/W unit 56 is connected with the management machine 100using the wired communication cable 150. Alternatively, the samestructure is also available by employing wireless connection using aninfrared communication or wireless communication and the like. Inaddition, in the embodiment described above, a single management machine100 is provided to each island where the game machines are placed.Alternatively, a single management machine 100 may be provided to aplurality of islands together, or the central management computer 300which manages the overall amusement center may be structured in such amanner that it serves also as the management machine. The same effect asof the embodiment described above may be realized by employing astructure in which various kinds of game information of the pachinkogame machine 1 are directly transmitted to the central managementcomputer 300 without passing through the R/W unit 56 or the managementmachine 100, and the R/W unit 56 receives only a big hit signal.

The location of the R/W unit 56 is not limited to the outside of thecenter covering 90. The R/W unit 56 may be mounted to other locations inthe pachinko game machine 1 or may be mounted to the game machineplacement island. Further, it is possible to employ a structure inwhich, instead of preparing one R/W unit 56 for each of the pachinkogame machine 1, one or a plurality of R/W units 56 are provided to anisland for monitoring IC tags provided to a plurality of pachinko gamemachines 1. Further, it is possible to employ a structure in which theR/W unit 56 is supplied with electric power from the pachinko gamemachine 1 side, for example, from the main control board 41 or the powersupply board 42 having a backup power supply, instead of being suppliedwith electric power from the game machine placement island. In the caseof employing a structure in which the R/W unit 56 is supplied with powersupply from the main control board 41 of the pachinko game machine 1,after the amusement center is closed, the monitoring processing can becontinued using electric power supplied from the backup power supply ofthe pachinko game machine 1. In addition, it is also possible to employa structure in which the R/W unit 56 includes a backup power supplytherein. This backup power supply is charged during when the amusementcenter is open, and after the amusement center is closed, the R/W unit56 operates using the backup power supply.

In the embodiment described above, the IC tag is provided to theattacker member as a movable member. The placement of the IC tag is notlimited to the attacker member, but the IC tag may also be provided to avariable scoring device such as an ordinary electric device and thelike. In this case, as is the case where the IC tag is provided to theattacker member, it is possible to monitor the variable scoring deviceto check that it has been opened unfairly.

The IC tag 86 is not limited to a thin and small rectangle shape as inthe embodiment described above. Alternatively, the IC tag 86 may befreely structured in its shape and size, and may be in a coin shape, astick shape and the like. Further, the IC tag 86 is not limited to anelectromagnetic induction system as in the embodiment described above.Alternatively, the IC tag 86 may be in any other various systems such aselectromagnetic coupling system, microwave system, light system, and thelike. In addition, the IC tag 86 may be buried in the molded portion ofthe LSI 50, instead of being fixedly attached to the backside of theupper lid portion 80 a. FIGS. 22 and 23 are exploded perspective viewsof the board box 80 showing the case where the IC tag 86 is buried inthe LSI 50 on the main control board 41. In this exemplifiedmodification, the IC tag 68 is provided within the LSI 50 on the maincontrol board 41, and the antenna 68 is located on the upper lid portion80 a. Since the monitoring system detects that the upper lid portion 80a has been opened through the communication between the antenna 68 andthe IC tag 86, the same effect as of the foregoing embodiment can beachieved in this modification. In addition, unauthorized replacement ofthe ROM also can be found on top of the opening and closing action. TheIC tag may be integrally molded in the upper lid portion, oralternatively, may be structured so that the IC tag is destroyed whenbeing peeled off after it is attached.

Further, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 24, the antenna 68 maybe formed by being printed on the main control board 41 at the same timewhen the circuit pattern is formed. If the antenna 68 is printed on themain control board 41, the number of its parts can be reduced. Theposition and shape of the antenna 68 to be printed is not limited to thelower right position and spiral shape respectively as shown in FIG. 24.Alternatively, the antenna 68 may be printed by being winded severaltimes into a spiral shape along the outer periphery of the board. Inthis case, the IC tag 86 can establish the communication with theantenna 68 whichever position the IC tag 86 is located on the maincontrol board 41. Further, the antenna 168 for making communication withthe IC tag 186 to be attached on the opening and closing door 16 a ofthe big scoring hole 16 may be attached on the glass frame 13 or theglass plate. The communication available distance between the IC tag andthe antenna is not limited to about 5 mm as in the foregoing embodiment,but is adjustable according to the necessity by changing the location ofthe IC tag where the IC tag performs monitoring.

In the monitoring processing in the foregoing embodiment, the length ofwaiting time that the reflected wave is returned from the IC tag is setto 50 milliseconds. However, the length of waiting time is not limitedto 50 milliseconds, but is variable within the range of severalmilliseconds and several seconds as far as the monitoring can beperformed in real time. Instead of storing the time of disappearance andthe time of recovery in the EEPROM 56 d of the R/W unit 56, a hard discmay be provided within the R/W unit 56 and the time of disappearance andthe time of recovery are stored therein, or other storage medium such asan optical medium may be employed for storing these times.Alternatively, these times may be temporarily stored in the RAM 56 b,and data may be transmitted to the management machine, and then the RAM56 b may be cleared. When this structure is employed, the EEPROM 56 b isnot necessary. In addition, a structure may be employed in which, if noresponse is returned, the polling time is temporarily stored in the RAM56 b of the R/W unit 56 as the time of disappearance. Then, the pollingtime is stored in the EEPROM 86 c of the IC tag 86 together with thetime of recovery in the case of recovery. When this structure isemployed, the history is held in both the EEPROM 86 c and the managementmachine. Therefore, in case that the data in the management machine hasdisappeared, the history remains. If the IC tag is returned to themanufacturer of the pachinko game machine 1, the history is also managedby the manufacturer. Further, a power supply may be provided within theIC tag 86, so that the history is stored in the EEPROM 86 c at the sametime that it is stored in the EEPROM 56 d. Alternatively, the historymay be stored in the EEPROM 86 c instead of the EEPROM 56 d. Stillalternatively, the results are only transmitted to the managementmachine 100 without being stored in the RAM and EEPROM 86 c during whenthe amusement center is open, but are stored only during when theamusement center is closed. In addition, although the details ofreceived data are stored to allow the display unit to only display andthe alarm lamp to illuminate in the processing performed in themanagement machine 100, a structure may be employed in which the storeddetails are transmitted to the central management computer 300 and arestored therein for about one month, or are transmitted to the externalstorage device instead. In addition, the length of time that theidentification is impossible may be calculated in the R/W unit 56instead of the management machine 100, and may be transmitted from theR/W unit 56 to the management machine 100 together with the recoverydata.

8. Effects of the Embodiment

As described above, according to the management system of thisembodiment, the IC tags are provided to the board box 80 of the pachinkogame machine 1 connected to the management machine 100 and the openingand closing door 16 a of the big scoring hole 16 respectively. A callingwave is almost always transmitted from the R/W unit 56 to the respectiveIC tags and the IC tags are allowed to return reflected waves includingthe identification data of the IC tags. If any IC tag returns noresponse (responses have disappeared) or starts to respond again(responses have recovered), the ID code, the time of disappearance andthe time of recovery of the IC tag are transmitted to the managementmachine 100. When receiving such data transmission, the managementmachine 100 stores the details of the received data and allows thedisplay unit 107 to display the details, so as to alert a staff and thelike to the abnormality. In this manner, the management system serves tofind deceit actions at an early stage or to prevent deceit actions.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the monitoring system of the present invention issuitable for monitoring the operating status of devices such as gamemachines which may possibly be subjected to deceit actions.

1. A gaming system monitoring system comprising: an IC tag, and an ICtag monitoring device that communicates with the IC tag, wherein said ICtag stores identification data that is used for distinguishing the ICtag from other IC tags, and said IC tag monitoring device includes: atransmission circuit that transmits a calling wave for calling said ICtag, a reception circuit that receives a reflected wave returned fromsaid IC tag, an antenna that is connected to said transmission circuitand said reception circuit, determination means for determining that anabnormality has occurred if said reception circuit does not receive thereflected wave within a specified period of time since said transmissioncircuit transmits the calling wave and the IC tag monitoring device isunable to communicate with the IC tag, or if said identification datacontained in said reflected wave differs from registered data that isregistered beforehand, and storage means for storing a result of adetermination made by said determination means, and for storingmonitoring history data containing at least one of a time ofdisappearance that is the point of time at which a communicationavailable state in which said reception circuit can receive saidreflected wave has changed into a communication unavailable state inwhich said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave, a timeof recovery that is the point of time at which said communicationunavailable state has changed into said communication available state,and a time of ID abnormality that is the point of time at whichidentification data different from the registered data that has beenregistered beforehand was received, wherein said storage means does notstore said determination result and said monitoring history data whenthe result of the determination made by said determination means isnormal continuously from a most recent determination result, and saidstorage means does store said determination result and said monitoringhistory data when the result of the determination made by saiddetermination means is abnormal continuously from the most recentdetermination result.
 2. The gaming system monitoring system accordingto claim 1, wherein said reception circuit cannot receive said reflectedwave if a distance between said IC tag and said antenna changes to avalue exceeding a specified threshold value.
 3. The gaming systemmonitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said transmissioncircuit transmits the calling wave to said IC tag, and transmits thecalling wave to said IC tag again immediately after said determinationmeans has made determination and said storage means has made storage. 4.The gaming system monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein saidIC tag monitoring device comprises output means for outputting to theoutside said determination result and said monitoring history data thatsaid storage means has stored.
 5. A gaming system monitoring systemcomprising: an IC tag, and an IC tag monitoring device that communicateswith the IC tag, wherein said IC tag stores identification data that isused for distinguishing the IC tag from other IC tags, and said IC tagmonitoring device includes: a transmission circuit that transmits acalling wave for calling said IC tag, a reception circuit that receivesa reflected wave returned from said IC tag, an antenna that is connectedto said transmission circuit and said reception circuit, determinationmeans for determining that an abnormality has occurred if said receptioncircuit does not receive the reflected wave within a specified period oftime since said transmission circuit transmits the calling wave and theIC tag monitoring device is unable to communicate with the IC tag, or ifsaid identification data contained in said reflected wave differs fromregistered data that is registered beforehand, and output means foroutputting to the outside a result of a determination made by saiddetermination means, and monitoring history data containing at least oneof a time of disappearance that is the point of time at which acommunication available state in which said reception circuit canreceive said reflected wave has changed into a communication unavailablestate in which said reception circuit cannot receive said reflectedwave, a time of recovery that is the point of time at which saidcommunication unavailable state has changed into said communicationavailable state, and a time of ID abnormality that is the point of timeat which identification data different from the registered data that hasbeen registered beforehand was received, wherein said storage means doesnot store said determination result and said monitoring history datawhen the result of the determination made by said determination means isnormal continuously from a most recent determination result, and saidstorage means does store said determination result and said monitoringhistory data when the result of the determination made by saiddetermination means is abnormal continuously from the most recentdetermination result.
 6. The gaming system monitoring system accordingto claim 4, wherein said transmission circuit transmits the calling waveto said IC tag, and transmits the calling wave to said IC tag againimmediately after said determination means has made determination andsaid output means has made output.